A trail-filled week with fun for the kid and for me!

A couple of weeks ago I received a phone call from a local number and the words “Possible Spam” were NOT flashing on my phone’s display. I answered it and I was pleasantly surprised to be speaking to Kat Sweet, the owner and head coach of SweetLines. SweetLines is a local mountain bike coaching and summer camp company based out of Duthie Hill Mountain bike park in the Seattle, WA area. This phone call was a surprise for a couple of reasons. First, I had completely forgotten about signing up for this; we signed up for a waitlist back in February! The second reason was that by the time it had registered, I couldn’t believe we had gotten in. Everyone I had spoken to about the camp had mentioned that it was “impossible” to get into; add Covid to the mix and I really did not expect anything to come of it.

This review will include some information about what you and your kids can expect, what you will need to bring with you, as well as what we purchased, and lastly an interview with Luna, my kid. I have prepared a few questions about her experience for you to read to your kids and see if they’re interested in such an experience.

The Dirt Shredders Camp is a weeklong summer camp for kids ranging from ages 6-9. Kat and her team run the camp from the middle of June through the end of August, a week at a time. The camp is from 10:00AM to 3:30PM Monday through Friday. Pretty convenient if you live in the Issaquah Area. For us, it was about an hour drive each way.

Dirt Shredders Camp Level System

The Camps are separated out by skill level. Regardless of if your kid is new to to riding trails, or an experienced X-Games hopeful. The level ranges – from their website – are below:

Level 1 – Beginner (0-1/2 Year Riding the trails)

Level 2 – Novice (1/2 – 1 Year Riding the trails)

Level 3 – Intermediate (1-3 Years Riding the trails)

Level 4 – Advanced Intermediate (2-4 Years Riding the Trails)

Level 5 Through 8 – Advanced and Specialized “Enduro” or “Jumper”

While Luna has been riding her bike for a couple of years now, the trails she has mastered were mostly Green-level trails or Blue-level trails that we would avoid major features on. She joined the camp as a level 1.

Mountain Bike Trail Difficulty System

This is a good time to introduce you all to the difficulty levels of mountain biking. I didn’t grow up skiing but my PNW friends tell me they learned this system on the slopes. in order of difficulty from easiest to most technically advanced is below.

• Purple – Gravel or Access Road. This is usually unpaved but simple to navigate. No real big pitches in slope and no obstacles.
• Green – Wide single track trail with avoidable features. Nothing greater than 2″ to roll over.
• Blue – Single trail trail with some avoidable features and some unavoidable features up to 8″.
• Black – Narrower Single track trail with avoidable and unavoidable features up to 15″
• Double Black – These trails maybe as narrow as 6″ across and have features larger than 15″. This is an expert level trail.

Necessary Equipment

Before camp starts, you and your family will receive an email with a schedule and a list of items your kid must have for the camp. I would’ve liked to known this list of items and schedules sooner but being that we got in last minute due to a cancellation, I can’t fault Sweetlines too much.

The Bike

The bike must have hand lever brakes and your child must be confident in using them. No coaster brakes. The bike should also have gears to help your child ride up steep hills, but this is not mandatory. Another recommendation are suspension forks. This becomes more necessary as the difficulty of the trails and skills increases. Besides bike recommendations, the SweetLines team sends a great list of maintenance for your child’s bike before joining the camp.

I used this checklist as a teaching opportunity. Luna and I took her bike and ran it through the checklist together. This inspired a great deal of confidence for her and for me. We both also learned a few things about tire pressure and overall ride-preparedness. The list includes checking bolts, chain lube, and tire pressure.

Equipment

The above list is also a set of links to the items Luna took with her to camp. This should help you all know what items would work great for getting your family out on the trails and riding safely.

Athlete Interview – Luna

I prepared a few questions for luna regarding her experience at SweetLines Dirt Shredder Summer Camp. My intent was that you would use this interview to gauge if your family was interested in such an experience.

1. How Old are you and how long have you been rinding bikes with two wheels?
   • “six! I think since I was 4”
2. Were you at all nervous about starting SweetLines Dirt Shredders Camp?
   • “Yes, I was scared of falling, and making friends”
3. When you arrived on Monday morning how did you feel about the coaches and all the new friends?
   • “Everyone was nice and I was excited”
4. When you started riding did you feel confident that you could keep up with all the friends in your group?
   • “Yes. The coaches checked backpacks, gloves, and that you were wearing knee pads.”
5. How did you feel about your coaches?
   • “I liked them.” “They were nice and I learned a lot of stuff like putting my wheel up”.
6. What did you learn at camp?
   • “Putting my wheel up, doing the pump track, climbing up hills, unlocking new trails. one of them was so FUN! I need to show you that one!”
7. What else did you do besides riding and learning about trails?
   • “Capture the flag, Poison Dart Frog, and building a fort”
8. What was the thing you liked the least about the week?
   • “Nothing!”
9. What was your favorite part of the entire week?
   • “Trails and learning how to put my wheel up.” “Also we built our own ramp and it was fun to ride”
10. Do you want to go to this camp next year?
    • “Yes!”

Parent Review

I have lived in Seattle for a little over 5 years but have never had to deal with summer camps, or summer camps after a global pandemic. I didn’t realize how crazy fellow moms and dads are about getting their kids into camps and summer programs. When I set my alarm for 8:00am on a random day in February to solidify a spot in this camp, I believed I was kicking parenting ass. Little did I know Kat’s classes get booked in minutes, if not seconds. Since then, I have spoken to other MTB parents and they all seem to have a summer camp registration story involving an alarm and a failed attempt to register their kid.

I only came to know of the Sweetlines program during the 2020 lockdown. Heading into Duthie was a great way to be outside with my little one but feel somewhat normal. Luna and I got to know some of the easier trails and she really feel in love with what mountain biking could be. The Sweetlines team was hosting smaller Pandemic camps last summer and I got to see them work. They seemed organized, cheerful, and most importantly the kids seemed to be having a blast!

This year when I received that phonecall about an open spot I jumped right on it. Before I had gotten off the phone, I had already done a little dance around the kitchen. Luna is 6 and therefore the youngest possible age for the programs. I had no idea what level to sign her up for. The team did a great job of walking me through the different levels over the phone. I took the opportunity the week before camp to go to Duthie and ride some of the named trails with her to see how she would do. Armed with all of the guidelines described by Kat’s team, Luna and I would try some trails I didn’t even know existed in the park. Some of them were way too big and some were just right. I emailed the team and within minutes I received a confirmation.

The day before and the morning of camp we were all nervous. What would they have her do? Would she fall and get hurt? Is 5 days of mountain biking for a 6 year old too much?! We parked those feelings and sent her on her way. The classes were separated into predetermined groups; the groups further organized by level. I got the feeling right away this was a well thought out plan. Each group had about 5 kids and 2 coaches. They handed Luna a T shirt and all the kids began their warm welcome. I wasn’t crying…

When they arrived back in the parking lot that afternoon all I saw in Luna’s face was stoke. She was sweaty, dusty, and full of energy; the kind of energy that comes only from having a day full of type II fun. As we got in the car, she was spitting out experiences, friends names, and stories faster than I could register them. Before getting back on the highway she was asleep; my concern now was regarding endurance.

By Wednesday, I learned that the team at Sweetlines not only works on mountain biking skills and trails, but the kids have time to play with each other as well as intermingle with the older more experienced kids. They played all sorts of games while they were at camp, some of which I had never heard of. What in the world is “Poison Dart Frog”?! I also was very impressed with how they handled conflict within the group.

On Friday, the last day of camp, I was confident that Luna was enjoying it. She had friends she would look for in the mornings and yell to in the afternoons. Whenever I would run into her in the park she would act like she was too cool for me and that made me feel like she’d be all right. I remember how she flew up the last hill to the parking lot on the last day. With a HUGE dusty smile on her face she yelled that she had done a new time record on the Dueces Wild Trail and that she knew how to “put her wheel up” which looks like the start of popping wheelies. All the rest of the kids had similar smiles, some dustier than others.

Final Thoughts

Overall the experience was great! I took advantage of the circumstances and spent the week riding the trails at Duthie and Grandridge. I even was able to do some trail running on Thursday morning. The classes were always on time in the mornings. In fact, every morning as we drove into the park, Kat and her team seemed to have been there well before. I was always 15 minutes early and they always seemed to have gotten there much earlier than that. The classes also made sure to end on time, something important if you have to rush back to the office. There were an abundance of coaches waiting for parent pickup and those coaches seemed eager to answer any questions. The coaches were all very warm and welcoming, not only to Luna but to the families too. Your kid receives a report card with accomplishments including “Unlocked Trails” and skills. I recommend this for your kids and I fully plan to take Luna back next year for Level 2.